


A Dragon's Soul

by Cryptid_inDisguise



Series: Eulogy [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Worth Issues, Ya know... nerdy DnD shit, burn scars, learning to love yourself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:09:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28724883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptid_inDisguise/pseuds/Cryptid_inDisguise
Summary: Aldrnari, the soon to be chief of a village of Dragonkin, left in the dead of night on a quest to find her father and those who wronged her people. Along the way she meets a Witch who is known for her haphazard potions and combustible elixirs, an Elf wandering for something he knows not what, and an Old Hermit who seems to know more than he lets on. Together they traverse the land and help her find more than just her father.
Series: Eulogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105760
Kudos: 1





	A Dragon's Soul

~~~  
_Flame and smoke filled the air accompanied by screams. Children cired for their mother's. Blood mixed with dirt in the streets. Men and women were slayen where they stood. She watched her father, the Chief, commanding his warriors. He was a pillar of calm in the chaos. Rage clouded his eyes, Hell’s fury within his words._  
_Her mother, sword in hand, joined his side. Her presence was tainted by fear. She couldn’t find something. Someone._

_Her brother, where was her brother. Her feet began moving as fast as her mind. The longhouse._

_Flames spilled from the sides lapping greedily at the oxygen around, the wood blackened and glowed. Hair curled and smoked as she ran in. Smoke choked her and ash stung. Flames licked her face, the pain seared and the scent of burning flesh filled her nose. She had to keep moving._  
_She had to find her brother._  
_The fire blazed and danced around her as the pushed debris settled around her feet. The groan of bowing wood threatening to fall at any moment was silenced by her thoughts._  
_Frantically, ignoring the pain from flesh being ripped from her hands and left on the pot she threw it across the room, tears kept her from realising the burning of ash but she couldn’t ignore her blurring eyesight, was it from tears and ash or lack of oxygen._  
_She had to find her brother._  
_Calling her brother's name she lunged forward rolling away from a falling wooden beam. Embers singed her clothes as she ran to the figure laying face down. Her brother. Gingerly she rolled him over, cradling him in her arms._  
_A young boy, maybe 10 of age, lay motionless in her arms. Eyes long ago glassed._

~~~

  
“Aldrnari!” She woke in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily, she felt tears falling on her cheeks. “Aldrnari, you best be up!” Her mother called to her again. With a groan Aldrnari let her head fall against the pillow as her mother made her way up the stairs.   
“Honestly,” She huffed, seeing her daughter still in bed. Snagging the blanket off her, Aldrnari instantly coiled into a ball. “You of all people should be up at Sunrise.” Grabbing her by the arm and pulled her to her feet not seeing the wreck she was.   
“Maybe if sunrise wouldn’t be so early, I would be.” she murmured and wiped the tears and sleep from her eyes. Her mother, who had heard her, looked at her unimpressed.   
“You are the eldest daughter,” She let go and began rummaging through her wardrobe. “the next Chief!” she thrust the gold embroidered ivory smock and matching green strap dress into her hands. The finest ones Aldrnari had, she noted. “You need to start acting like it if you want to be respected.”  
“They’ll never respect me,” she threw the clothing on her bed as she followed her mother to her vanity. “They’ve all written me off as cursed, as- as _foul flamed_! I’d have better luck finding father than earning their respect!” She didn’t mean to shout but she did. Her mother snapped around, rage in her eyes. As her mother began to form a retort her gaze softened as she looked at the twisted scar covering half the right side of her daughter’s face.   
She was missing her eyelashes and eyebrow, her eye couldn’t open completely. Her lip was pulled in such a way it made her constantly show teeth and gum. Her ear was flat against her head, her hair thinner on that side than the rest of her head. The scar tissue itself was twisted and mangled.  
“Do not say such things, they will come about eventually.” her mother caressed the left side of her face. “Now! Get ready! Today is a big day!”  
Aldrnari tilted her head in confusion as her mother patted her cheek and began leaving the room. “Today is soul’s day~” she felt her stomach drop as her mother's sing-songy tone disappeared down the stairs after her.   
Of course, soul’s day, the day young men and young women found a partner- found a _mate_. Mate was an old term her village still used due to the relevance it held with their ancestors, Dragons. Why everyone was obsessed with long extinct over sized reptiles, she would never know. But she did know that dragon motifs had always been part of her life and her village (mainly the elders) would do and say anything to feel closer to them. She honestly felt it was just a group of old coots, living way past their time, wanting their culture’s creation story to be true; she was definitely done with the prospect of mates. It's not like anyone would want her, she was deformed.   
She looked at herself one last time in the mirror, her beautifully embroidered garb looked foreign on her. She covered the right side of her face. She was once told she would have been the envy of the village. Red hair like flames curled around her hips, her green eyes like emeralds matched her dress, her tanned and freckled skin stood out from underneath the ivory smock. Her fingernails perfectly manicured into those of claws. She was once told she would have been the most sought after at her soul’s day… once.  
Now she’s seen as cursed and _foul flamed_ and no one would want her. No one would want the _foul flamed_. 

  
After eating breakfast, as slowly as she could, and cleaning the golden coins of her brother’s shrine she made her way to the longhouse.  
Eager young women her age hiked up their dresses and raced each other there, laughter filling the air. Some walked idly; chatting amongst themselves, others giggled as they the young men trying to show off. Many ignored Aldrnari, avoided her, talking behind their hands in whispers no doubt about her deformity, she kept to the side closest to the back of the throngs of people. They’ll come around eventually.

Once in the longhouse she made herself as small as possible in the back corner, closest to the doors. She watched the others her age mingle. Laughing, smiling, and being carefree; excited for the events of today. She remembers a time when she was carefree; when no one feared her very presence, when no one hated her existence. They’ll come around eventually.  
In the corner of her eye she saw three figures walk in, the longhouse fell silent with anticipation. The elders, three people (as old as dust) wore their ceremonial garb. Aldrnari’s pretty sure it's the only thing they own. Their heads crowned with horns which were adorned with jewels and carved in spiraling patterns. dresses of earth tones were hidden by gold and ivory robes dragging across the floor.   
A blue tapestry hung around the shoulders of the middle most elder, depicting the creation of her people, the Dragonkin. _Mothr_ , the eldest of the elders stood with an authority that even her father bowed to. She was respected and demanded it be shown to her. She was also the reason for Aldrnari’s belittlement. She was the first to call her _foul flamed_. 

Her cold blue eyes stared out into the gathering, her eyes lingered with hatred on Aldrnari. As her eyes crinkled into the smile that spread across her face, she swept her arms around the room. “Welcome, and good morning to you all!” Her voice echoed and was warm. “We all know why you gather today, but let us talk about why today.” Her voice chirped with excitement and Aldrnari rolled her eyes. “Today, the day we know as Soul’s Day is the birth of our great peoples-” Aldrnari tuned her out, not wanting to hear the reasoning behind this horrendous day. She just wanted this over with, to get the humiliation of not being picked during the dance of soul’s over so she could run to the fields and lay in the grass.  
  
As if feeling her longing she felt the grass between her toes, the sweet smell of foliage in her nose, the warm sun on her skin, the breeze in her hair. She pictured herself strung out in the blades of gently swaying grass and watching the clouds overhead. She felt her happiest laying in those wild fields where the earth and sky embraced her, and the animals didn't judge her. She wished more than anything to be there of all places right now. But she wasn't; she was in a stuffy longhouse full of people who hardly even looked her way and the one woman she felt the most hate from. 

She was reminded of this when the others began frantically moving about. Young men moved the tables and young women sat up the instruments. The dance was about to begin. She felt her heart drop.   
She placed the crown of daffodils on her head, it was heavy and felt as if it burned her. The young women began dancing cheerfully with each other as the music began, hand in hand, twirling and whirling, and clapping and smiling, and dancing and ribbons from the crowns on their heads trailed behind them and they were beautiful. Tears began to form in her eyes as she watched from her corner. Rambunctiously dancing around the hearth. Squeals of delight erupted as the first daring young men snatched the ladies from their friends and danced them away. Instantly, some of the ladies placed their crowns on their dashing captors heads, others played coy.   
The first few tears fully spilled over, she grabbed the crown from her head and gripped it tight hoping the tightness in her chest would transfer to it rather than her heart. Mothr, smiled on at the crowd and her eyes harded as she looked at Aldrnari. She was doing this to punish Aldrnari, she must have been. Alrdnari ran, she ran from the longhouse, she ran past the other villagers, she ran past her mother who called to her.She ran and ran and ran until she found herself in the familiar wild fields she loved so dearly. Breathing heavily as hyperventilation set in she screamed. She screamed even as the feeling of stinging scratched at her throat. She screamed as the tears fell faster. She screamed as her head began to swell with pressure. As the heat in her chest rose. As the ringing in her ears became deafening. As she fell to her knees and clinched her chest.   
When she finally stopped, the final note breaking, she breathed in heavily. Hear screams echoing in a roar throughout the sky… not an echoing scream but an honest to the gods roar, one that even when it was just an echo she could feel it in her chest. Deep and guttural, and primal, and… Draconic. Frantically looking around still clutching her chest she breathed steadily, confusion in her brow. Where? What? There's no way that was- was it? Timidly, she stood up and began leaving towards the village again. She could figure out what happened when she was home.. After she slept. Leaving without looking back, the ground in a ten foot radius burnt and smoked. 


End file.
